Volume 4: Holy Capital Tribulation Chapter 236 Sixth Ancient Capital
"How do you know so much about this?" Xu Zun asked.
"Yes...it's like this..." Li Jinlou recalled, "When Mr. Tie saw that Cao Ding liked his family's ancient map so much, he offered a large price one after another, but Cao Ding's limited wealth could not afford it!
"But Cao Ding really loved the ancient maps and didn't want to give them up, so he asked someone to find me to help him," Li Jinlou said. "He asked Ying Rang, the Minister of Industry, to help him. In this way, I and Ying Rang came forward to talk things over, and only then did Tie Lao lower the price and sell the ancient maps."
"That batch?" Xu Zun grasped the word, "A lot?"
"Yes," Li Jinlou nodded, "They are all ancient maps of Xuanmiao City. It seems that there are maps from every dynasty. Most of them are hand-painted, and some look quite old!"
"Did Tie Jing sell all of it to Cao Ding?" Xu Zun asked again.
"Yes, um... I think so?" Li Jinlou said, "To put it bluntly, I'm just a middleman. I don't know whether Mr. Tie has any stock left!"
Hearing this, Xu Zun turned around and asked Xiang Tiefu's housekeeper and others: "Do you know about this?"
"My family..." At this time, an old woman said, "Our Tie family's ancestors did serve as supervisors of the previous dynasty's Kansheyuan, and I have also seen the ancient maps you mentioned.
"My master was also interested in those maps. He used to take them out to look at them often, but he never saw them again later..."
"good!"
Xu Zun winked at Li Xing, and Li Xing immediately understood what Xu Zun meant. He immediately took the old woman away and asked her to help find out if Tie Jing had any stock at home.
"Li Yushi," Xu Zun asked Li Jinlou again, "Think about it carefully. Apart from Ying Rang and Cao Ding, who else knows more about Tie Lao's batch of ancient maps?"
"Of course it's Tie Lao himself!" Li Jinlou said without hesitation, "Isn't he helping out at the Inner Guard? You ask... um..."
Suddenly, he noticed something from the expressions of Xu Zun and others, and immediately shut his mouth and stopped talking.
"Hey, I'm asking you a question!" Ani poked him with her scabbard and asked, "Besides Tie Lao, who else knows?"
"And... and Liu Jin... Oh..." Li Jinlou realized that Liu Jin was no longer alive, and said, "Tie Lao is knowledgeable and has many friends. I... I can make a list for you.
"But I don't know who knows about the maps."
"Okay." Xu Zun nodded to Annie and asked Li Jinlou to write the list to Annie.
However, just as the two were about to go to the side, Xu Zun suddenly remembered something and asked Li Jinlou, "By the way, did Cao Ding say what he wanted those maps for?"
"Hmm..." Li Jinlou pondered for a moment and replied, "It seems that he just likes it? Hmm... It seems... He said that those ancient maps show ancient water conservancy hubs or ditches or something, maybe... It can be of some help to his water conservancy project?"
Hearing this, Xu Zun suddenly felt his heart tremble, and a chill ran down from head to toe.
Could it be... just as I guessed before, this is the heavenly tribulation that Xuanmen really wants! ! ?
"Xu Zun..." At this time, Chen Taiji, who had been standing next to him, couldn't help but pull Xu Zun aside and asked, "Why... do you think there is a problem here?"
"Master Chen," Xu Zun asked, "I heard you say before that the Holy City Xuanmiao City was built on the original ancient city, right?"
"Yes!" Chen Taiji nodded. "When I was a child, I heard people say that some old people called Xuanmiao City the Six-Layered Ancient Capital."
"Six-story ancient capital?" Xu Zun was curious.
"Xuan Miao City is known as the center of the world. Because of its excellent geographical location and strategic factors, more than a dozen dynasties in history have built it as their capital." Chen Taiji explained, "Except for those short-lived dynasties, including my Great Xuan, a total of six dynasties have built capitals and cities here!
“After all, national power is limited, so when building, most dynasties would build on the original old sites.
"After some renovations or additions, it became a city on top of a city over time, creating the six-story ancient capital of today!"
oh… …
Xu Zun pondered carefully and murmured, "So, there must be another mystery under the Xuanmiao City?"
"Yes, that's true!" Chen Taiji affirmed, "The people in the Ministry of Works know this best. Many projects that have just started will encounter the same problem, which is that when digging down into the ground, they will always find ancient relics, which will increase the workload and delay the deadline.
"Sometimes, we even have to choose another location to build."
"Then...is there any explanation about these waterways and canals?" Xu Zun asked again.
"Yes," Chen Taiji replied, "Since the Holy City was built on top of the ancient capital, then the underground ditches and gullies left over from the past are naturally all underground.
"It is said that those underground canals can still dredge and remove silt, which is why Xuanmiao City has never suffered from floods in hundreds of years."
Underground city...underdrain waterway...
Xu Zun connected the dots and asked Chen Taiji, "Can people get into those underground canals?"
"This..." Chen Taiji shook his head, "I don't know! For this kind of thing, I'm afraid I have to ask the people in the Ministry of Industry.
“Actually…” He looked around and said regretfully, “In the entire Xuanmiao City, I’m afraid that only Tie Lao is the most proficient in this kind of thing.
“I heard before that the cabinet wanted to recruit Tie Lao to work in the Institute of Investigation and Establishment, but Tie Lao refused. After all, there are a lot of benefits in the Dali Temple!
"Xu Zun..." Chen Taiji asked in a low voice, "Do you think that they suddenly killed Tie Lao because they didn't want him to reveal the secret of the ancient city's underground canal?"
Xu Zun nodded slightly: "I guess, when Tie Jing was talking to Dongfang Shenpo at Cao Ding's house, he might have remembered the deal he had made with Cao Ding, and then Cao Ding's housekeeper heard it, so he didn't hesitate to expose his identity and wanted to kill Tie Lao!"
"In that case... this matter is of great importance, but..." Chen Taiji frowned, "I really can't think of what Xuanmen can do with those ancient underground canals that have existed for thousands of years?"
"Water?" Xu Zun asked.
"Impossible!" Chen Taiji shook his head, "Although I am an outsider, I know that Xuanmiao City is located at a high altitude, and without those underground canals, floods would be impossible.
"Besides, the water is diverted here. If there is a flood, the river water will flow downstream along the Jinyin River..."
"Then..." Xu Zun asked again, "What if we use explosives?"
At this moment, Xu Zun completely imagined himself as a rebel of Xuanmen, thinking about how to cause the greatest damage to this impregnable historical ancient city.
He thought that as soon as he said this, Chen Taiji would be shocked.
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Chen Taiji waved his hands repeatedly:
"That's even more impossible! Although the explosives are powerful, it's simply a pipe dream to blow up Xuanmiao City or the Imperial Palace!"
"Really?" Xu Zun said, "Since there is a gap under the Holy City, then bury the explosives...
"Impossible," Chen Taiji gave a negative answer before Xu Zun finished speaking, "I understand what you mean, are you trying to say that Xuanmen wants to blow up Wanfu Palace ?
"Do you know how much explosives that would take?" Chen Taiji gestured, "If we use the best gunpowder in the world, we would need tens of thousands of boxes! Do you think it's possible?
"Besides," he added, "the foundation of Wanfu Palace was laid in advance, so there can't be nothing underneath!"
Really?
Listening to Chen Taiji's words, Xu Zun fell into deep thought. Water and fire didn't work, so what could the Xuanmen rebels do with these ancient city's underground canals?
